


The Dragon Riders of Altea

by 15bbird



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Fantasy, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-28
Updated: 2018-12-27
Packaged: 2019-09-29 00:42:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,847
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17193257
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/15bbird/pseuds/15bbird
Summary: After meeting a hooded man in the woods, Lance decides to go on a quest to save an old classmate from the clutches of the Galran empire. Will he be able to save him in time? Or will he discover a power greater than himself?





	The Dragon Riders of Altea

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is the first fic I've done in a while. I want to be able to actually finish and continue with it. I also am hoping to make it pretty long. It's set up in my own universe I've made up, with the galran and altean empires added in the middle of all of it there's a chance some of my OC's might show up, but it is entirely focused on the voltron gang. 
> 
> There is also a chance for smut to appear in this but as of right now I'm undecided weather that's going to happen or not. So. For now it's set for teen until other wise stated. All characters are overage until otherwise stated. Any underage characters will NOT be involved in the smut. 
> 
> Hope you all enjoy! :)

_“Sometimes what we want isn’t what we get.”_

Yup. That’s what Mama Mclain always said to her kids as they were growing up in the kingdom of Sunray Province. She was always a level headed woman, who treated each of her kids fairly. Marco, Luis, Veronica, Rachel, and even the baby of the family, Lance, got their fair share of punishment and rewards. If one of them forgot to do their chores, than they would have to track and hunt down a deer to bring home for dinner.

Lance had a bad habit of flirting with girls and forgetting to do his chores. So, he also ended up hunting and killing a lot of deer. His advances never really got him far, however. Most of the girls would ignore him or blow him off. Lance’s neighbor, Grimalda, ended up yeeting him into her fence one time for hitting on her.

He promised himself he would never flirt with her again.

Now, the Mclain’s lived out on the farmlands at the edge of Sunray Province and at the border of Camelot and The forest of Monsters. Camelot was one of the greatest human kingdoms of all time. It was twice as big as Sunray Province, and they searched high and low for the greatest of knights to join their Round Table. If one managed to join their knight’s club than they and their family will be set for life. That was Lance’s dream. He wanted to become a knight and protect people.

Right now, lance could easily become a knight in Sunray Province. He even got a job offer that he hadn't yet responded too. They just ended a war with The Shadow Isles, and ended up losing a lot of men because of it, so now they needed all the help they could get. Plus, Lance had just finished school at the Garrison, so he was trained. The problem with being a knight here? Sunray Province valued brute strength, and Lance was a twig. Camelot looked for far more than just brute strength, and Lance wante do more than just his strength.

As for the forest of monsters?

Well, that forest was put at the border to protect Sunray Province and Camelot from the Galran empire. The forest was enchanted and had some of the most dangerous monsters within it. It would keep the Galran’s and the evil Alteans out of their kingdoms. They had no use for these silly magical wars. None of the humans wanted anything to do with it. Especially, when they had their own wars that they were fighting.

Lance was laying in a pile of hay he was suppose to feed to the horses, instead he was taking a nap in it. He had his hat over his head, and a piece of straw hanging out of his mouth as he snored away. Though it wasn't long before Veronica walked over to her brother to kick him in the shins.

Lance woke with a start, his eyes glaring up at his sister. “hey, what the actual fuck are you doing, Veronica?”

“waking your lazy ass up. Now go get your bow. You and me have to go hunt down a couple of wolves.”

With a groan, lance rolled over and stood up. “can't a guy just get five minutes of sleep?”

“lance, you've been sleeping for over an hour and you haven't even done any of your chores. You know mom is gonna be pissed at you if you don't at least help me clear out those wolves that are eating all the deer.”

“okay, okay, I get it.” he sighed, “just give me five minutes.”

Veronica nodded and Lance headed back into his house. It was rather small for their big family, but it was home. The wooden floor was covered in a deer skin rug, while their beds would have wolf skin blankets. The McClains were hunters and trappers. Though they never hunted to be cruel to the wildlife. They only hunted when needed, and the skin, meat, and bones of the animal would be used for something or another. They would never kill just to kill.

Lance made a beeline to his room, barely taking a moment to look around before grabbing his bow. It was specially made. There was small carvings of waves into the wood, and the arrows, had blue feathers at the end and were soaked in blueberry juice to attract deer. So it was useful for both deer hunting and wolf hunting. The blueberry juice would attract the deer, while the deer would attract the wolves.

Still, there was no guarantee that wolves would show up. So, lance went to their icebox and pulled out a fresh piece of Deer meat. He wrapped it up, and headed back to Veronica. “got my bow and got some bait, so we're all ready to move out.”

Veronica nodded and grabbed her spear. “lead the way, sharpshooter.”

Lance rolled his eyes but had a small grin at the nickname. He was a pretty good shot after all. They headed towards the woods. The monsters would usually stay in the deep parts of the forest. Only the wolves, deer, and small game would be at the edges of it. Besides they really weren't allowed going deep into the woods with the other side of it being Galran and Altean territory after all.

Lance went and set up the bait in a pile of leaves, fanning the stench of the meat. He then went back to his sister who had a rope already pulled out. The two used it to climb up one of the trees, and sitting on it's outstretched branch.

Veronica leaned back against the tree trunk, while Lance kept watch on the meat. He had his bow in his hand and an arrow already cocked so he would be at the ready.

Veronica stretched her arms over her head, sighing briefly. She then said, “so, we might be up here for a while. Wanna talk?”

Lance narrowed his eyes then, “what? Did you lie about the wolf problem just to talk to me?”

Veronica rolled her eyes. “no lance. There absolutely a wolf problem, but we do have to talk.”

The boy frowned, already knowing what this was going to be about. Still, he wanted to give Veronica the benefit of the doubt. “sure, what's so important?”

“well, summer is almost over, and you still haven't accepted the offer to join the Sunray Province knights. This could be a great opportunity for you, and with Hunk leaving for the Balmerans in a few weeks-”

Lance huffed, “I know, I know, Veronica. He's going to be a court mage and I will be a lowly foot soldier for a kingdom that doesn't give two shots about it's citizens or their own knights.”

Veronica punched the bridge of her nose. “Lance- look, from a moral standpoint I get why you don't want to join this knighthood. I get why you want to move to Camelot and start a new life, but the chances were so slim to begin with. Camelot only ever picks three people from the garrison program anyhow. The fact of the matter is you and your family need the gold you will be making from the Sunray Province knighthood. You need to pull up your big boy pants and just accept their offer.”

Lance closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. “I know, Veronica. I already got the talk from Mom, and Marco, and Luis, and Rachel. Heck, Hunk's little brother even yelled at me about it. I probably will accept their offer but I just… I need to show Camelot what I'm made of. I just need some miracle… some sign from the gods that this was what I was made to-”

And then Lance froze.

There, sniffing at the meat was a wolf, but it wasn't like any wolf Lance had ever seen before.

The creature was about two times the size of a normal wolf. It was nearly all black, with a blue strip that went from it's down to its tail. The creature was sparkling and glowing, and it was clear to Lance that he was imbued with some sort of magic. There seemed to be no others around it, which worried Lance more. Most wolves traveled in packs, so why didn’t this one?

Lance pulled back his arrows ready to shoot. He glanced at Veronica out of the corner of his eye and asked, “um… is this the wolf that has been eating all the deer? He's certainly big enough to be doing that.”

“i… I have no idea Lance, but it doesn't feel like it. I don't think this is the same wolf, look he hasn't even touched the deer meat you laid out.” Veronica gestured to the meat and she was right. The most the wolf was doing was nudging it with its nose. “Are we sure we should kill this one? Can we even kill it?”

“Even if we could, I don’t think we should.” Lance admitted with a shrug. “Honestly we should just scare him away and wait for the next one.”

Normally, Lance would of thought the creature was a monster, but considering the fact that it wasn’t devouring the meat told Lance otherwise.

Lance pulled back an arrow, aiming it close to the Wolf’s feet. He let the arrow fly, digging itself into the ground by the wolf’s feet. Lance let out a quick, “Ha!” and had a big grin on his face. Though the grin didn’t last long. Soon, Lance’s face developed into a deep frown, and a questioning gaze was on his face. “Wait, what?”

The wolf didn’t even flinch. In fact, it hadn’t even noticed the arrow that landed by its feet. Instead it’s eyes were trained into the deeper part of the forest. Lance and Veronica exchanged a look, both bewildered by the sight.

Then there was a sound, look a sword being unsheathed. The wolf took a protective stance, a low growl being heard. Veronica's eyes shot opened and she looked to Lance. “I'm going down there. You keep your arrows trained. If anything happens, you shoot, okay? Don't hesitate.”

Lance narrowed his eyes, “what, no, are you crazy, Veronica? We should be running home not protecting some magical wolf.”

Veronica scoffed and got her rope ready. “and I thought you wanted to be a brave Camelot knight.”

“i… I do?”

“than start acting like one, Lance.” with that, Veronica slowly lowered herself to the ground, her spear at the ready.

Lance continued to watch from the treetops, an annoyed look on his face. So, he didn't think a magic wolf was worth risking their lives over? So he might of been scared of whatever monster leaked in the dark? That didn’t mean he wasn't knight material. He would be great even if he was scared!

...wouldn’t he?

Lance’s insecurities slowly started to creep into his mind. He was just a simple hunter. He had no magic, no special abilities, he was just good with a bow. No girl wanted to date a hunter, they just wanted the knights or the scouts or the magicians. Lance just didn't have much to offer.

And that's why he had to prove himself!

Why he had to show the world just who Lance McClain was. He was meant to be a brave knight! It was his fate! It was his destiny! It was who he always wanted to be. It was all he ever wanted.

Lance cocked another arrow, aimed at the darkness.

More growling from the wolf, but it looked like it was beginning to back up. The wolf looked ready to bolt. Veronica stood by his side, her spear aimed into the shadows.

The sight of a long greatsword entered the light. It shines and glistened. The blade of the sword had a lion carving etched into the silver metal, two armored hands were holding the hilt. Soon an entire body could be seen. They wore an armored torso, and a black hood covered over their head. Their black cape slowly blowed in the breeze.

And then the fighting began.

Veronica was the one who struck first, however. She slammed the business end of her spear into the knick of the mystery man's armor, which he immediately deflected with the flat of his blade. The man swung his sword at Veronica, but she rolled away from, coming to a landing on one of her knees while her foot was planted to the ground. She jumped up from that position, aiming her spear for one of his boots.

This time the man let out a grunt, and swung the sharp of his blade at her spear. He ended up cutting the sharp part of the spear off, it clattering to the ground. Veronica huffed suddenly, but losing her weapon didn’t seem to phase her. She stabbed the wooden staff into the man’s foot, despite it being covered in armor. She yelled out, “Leave. The. Wolf. Alone!”

The wolf in question seemed to perk his ears up suddenly, like he knew Veronica was talking about him. He felt protected by Veronica. He no longer felt any danger. Still, he looked up too the trees, instantly having his eyes trained on Lance. The wolf and Lance were both silent as Veronica continued to try and fend off the stranger. Then with a flick of his wrist, Lance made a shooing motion, whispering the word, “Go.”

The wolf got the hint and ran off into the woods once more.

The stranger noticed this immediately and huffed. At first, he tried to run after the beast, but Veronica put her staff to his throat. “I said to leave him alone. He didn’t do anything wrong.”

The stranger huffed once more, and grabbed the staff with both his hands, yanking it and Veronica towards him. Lance could hear a very tired and masculine voice say, “Miss, if you would just let me explain-”

Lance didn’t like how he had yanked his sister forward, so he fired two arrows towards the man. The arrows landed right in front of the man’s feet. The clear sign of a warning shot. Lance growled, “You step away from my sister right now!”

The anger was clear and present in Lance’s eyes. The stranger finally looked up at him, and saw the look in Lance’s eyes. Then he paused even further and took a full step back from Veronica, his hands raised as he stared up at Lance. “Cadet McClain? Never thought I’d see you way out here.”

“C-cadet?” Lance shook his head and aimed another arrow towards the stranger. “Who the hell are you and why’d you pick a fight with my sister?”

The stranger rubbed the back of his head. “I mean… She attacked first, Lance.”

He then pulled his hood back, revealing a familiar flop of black and white hair. Lance sputtered out, “Captain Shirogane?”

Shiro looked a little sheepish then, “Yeah, it’s me… and please, i’m off duty right now so just call me Shiro.”

Lance couldn’t help the small squeal that left him, and the stars that were now in his eyes. Then he remembered the fact that Shiro had just tried to fight a wolf and his sister, and the anger re-set in his eyes. He grabbed his rope, seeing that the fighting had died down, and lowered himself to the ground. Veronica seemed to look between the two boys and ask, “So, you two… know each other?”

Lance nodded, “Yeah, Shiro here is a captain from the Camelot knights. He also was a trainer during my time at the Garrison. He taught me practically everything i learned from the garrison, and even taught Hunk a few things about defending himself.”

Shiro’s eyes seemed to light up a small bit, “Cadet Garrett lives around here too? I never got too teach him much since he was in the magician course, but whenever i did get to talk to him he was always a pleasure to be around.”

“Yeah, Hunk’s the best. In fact, he’s my neighbor.” The thought of his best friend always put a smile on Lance’s face. Veronica, however, looked skeptical, “And how exactly do you remember Lance and Hunk when you teach hundreds of other Cadets?”

Then there was a smirk on Shiro’s face, “It was a little hard to forget about the two of them. Those two plus another cadet of mine decided to race horses and hit targets on the back of the horses. Lance did well at that with his arrows, but Hunk ended up plowing straight into General Iverson. Then Lance got into a sword fight with this other cadet. Lance also had a bad habit of flirting with girls at the worst possible time, usually ending with him being rejec-”

“Okay, okay! She gets it Shiro!” Lance groaned, running his hands down his face. Hearing all that outloud was a little embarrassing, especially when it came to his captain. “Anyways, why are you here of all places? Don’t you have important knight business to be attending too?”

“Well… like i said, I’m off duty, but I was also heading towards the Galran and Altean empires.”

That made both Veronica and Lance freeze suddenly. There eyes screwed with both confusion and anger. Together they asked, “Why????”

He shook his head, “Don’t worry, I’m not joining up with their cause. I’m on a rescue mission. Long story short, me and my squadron was sent to help the Rebels fight against the Galran and Altean elves. Their situation is long and complicated and not worth explaining too two people who will never meet either of those races. Anyways, my nephew was captured by Galran spies, and I am currently going on a suicide mission to get him back. That wolf looked like the kind that the Galra spies use to track down their prisoners. Be glad it didn’t attack either of you.”

Lance blinked, “Whoa, that’s… That’s a lot to take in. I’m sorry about your nephew…”

Shiro shook his head, and patted Lance’s shoulder. “It’s not like you were the one who got him captured. Despite what he said, Keith was always fond of you, Lance. He’s been fond of you since you challenged him to a sword fight and got your ass kicked by him. He liked how you got back up despite losing over and over-”

Lance’s eyes widened, “K-keith? Keith Kogane is your nephew?”

Shiro looked around for a moment, before looking back at Lance, “Um… Yes?”

Then Lance realized what else Shiro had said, instantly shaking his head, “Keith hates me, Shiro!”

Shiro rolled his eyes, “Sure he did, Lance.” Sarcasm was dripping from his tones. He then turned towards the woods once more. “I’ve got to get going, I’ll be sure to come visit you two again if i manage to get Keith back. Where exactly do you two live again?”

Lance shook his head at that, “You really shouldn’t be doing this alone you know?”

Shiro sighed, “I know, but I won’t risk anyone of my squadon with what the knighthood and the Garrison sees as a personal problem. So, I have no choice but to go alone.”

Lance stepped forward, “You know… I could always-”

“No, Lance.”

“But I could help you!”

“I said NO, and that’s final.” Shiro rubbed the bridge of his nose. “I know you wanted to join the knighthood, but you should be grateful that you got to stay home with your family. I know you probably wanted greatness and glory but the fact of the matter is, you might end up in mine or Keith’s situation. You do NOT want to be out there in the thick of it. Now, please… just go home while you still can. There’s a good chance the galra spies are heading this way”

Veronica stepped forward then, “What? But the forest of Monsters is suppose to protect us from the Galran and Altean war.”

“Well, the border seems to be weakening. I don’t know why and I don’t know how. Only a mage would know that sort of stuff. Hell, only a mage would know how to properly navigate this place. Still, i’m not risking a poor mage’s life for this mission. Hurry on home both of you. Oh, and Miss? You should really see about training at the Garrison. You’d go far as a scout or even a knight if you so wished.”

Veronica had a soft smile on her face. “Thank you, but i’m not exactly interested in war. And just so you know, we live over in the farmlands of Sunray Province. We aren’t that hard to find, just look for the two little kids playing outside.”

Shiro smiled softly, “Will do, Miss.”

Captain Shirogane then headed back into the forest of Monsters.

Lance stared out into the darkness before looking at his sister, “What the heck was that? You told him where we live after telling you to go to the garrison?”

Veronica shrugged, “Keith’s about your age i’m assuming? I thought you could use another friend. Besides, you use to talk about Keith all the time in your letters you sent from the garrison.”

Lance felt his face heat up, “I did not!”

Veronica rolled her eyes, and echoed Shiro from earlier, “Sure you didn’t, Lance.” She then leaned down, picking up her spear head, and grinned. “Nice… I managed to get a little bit of blood out of him.” She then set the spearhead in Lance’s hand. “Souvenir for you.”

Lance wrinkled his brows at that. “Why exactly are you handing me your bloody spearhead?”

“Well, Shiro did say he needed a mage to navigate these woods properly, and Mage’s also can perform tracking spells with just a little bit of blood.” She turned to her brother and placed her hands on his shoulders. “Look, Lance. I know you’re worried about both Shiro and this Keith boy, and I know you want to be able to prove you can handle yourself as a cemeloian Knight. This may be your only chance to do so. So, if this is something you really, truly want, than I would just go for it. Show the world what Lance McClain is made of.”

Lance stared out into the woods. He appreciated the sentiment but he was still nervous… “Going straight into enemy territory is a little extreme though.”

“It is, I’ll admit. The fact of the matter is though, there will be you and Hunk, and eventually Shiro and Keith, and who knows who you might meet along the way. You only get so many chances in this world to do something great. I would go and do great while I still could.”

Lance placed his hand over his sister’s a small smile on his face. “Thank you, sis. I appreciate the pep talk.” He kissed her forehead, and started heading out of the woods. “Time to go see Hunk!”

**Author's Note:**

> Remember to comment below! I love reading what people think of my writing. Hunk, Pidge, Keith and hopefully Allura will show up in the next chapter.


End file.
